The Mystery Shop performed our first show on February 17, 1989.

How it all began

Way back in the Fall of 1988, several of us were involved in community theatre.  We were approached by a guy who owned a Bed and Breakfast in Wheaton, Illinois. He said he need to bring in weekend business and asked if we could put together a murder mystery weekend.

It took us several months to write the script, and it was designed specifically for the Inn. It was an overnight mystery. We performed for the guests on Friday night with lots of clues, codes, etc. Then the audience retired for the night and we hid clues all around the Inn during the night (like a scavenger hunt). We wrapped everything up on Saturday morning as the guests had their breakfast.

We were commissioned for a three weekend gig at the Wheaton Inn.  After the very positive feedback from the audience, we decided to make this a real business and thus The Mystery Shop was born.  Current owner Mary Heitert quit her “day job” in March of 1989 and has been running the business ever since.

The present

As of today, we have performed over 3100 shows for a wide range of audiences.  Here is just a sample of the types of groups The Mystery Shop is perfect for:

After school programs

Anniversary parties

Apartment/Resident parties

Associations and Clubs

Bachelor/Bachelorette parties

Bar/Bat Mitzvahs

Birthdays (adults or children)

Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts (Blue & Gold)

Break-out meetings

Camps

Christmas/holiday parties

Churches/Religious organizations

Client/Member appreciation events

Colleges/Universities

Corporations

Couples clubs

End-of-the-year parties

Family nights

Festivals/picnics/block parties

Fund-raisers

Girl Scouts/Brownies

Graduation parties

Halloween parties

Hotels

Libraries

Lock-ins/overnights

Luncheons

Meeting or Party Planners

Museums

New Year’s Eve parties

Park Districts/Recreation Centers

Political fund-raisers

Post-proms

Restaurants

Retirement parties

Reunions

Schools (Grades K-12)

Seniors

Showers (bridal, baby, etc.)

Singles Groups

Social events

Spouse activities

Staff/employee parties

Sweet 16’s

Team building activities

Teen mixers

…. Or just for fun!

The Future

Our future is entirely up to you!  Book your Mystery Shop programs now:  tms@TheMysteryShop.com or call 630-690-1105.

We’ll be happy to clue you in!